


Focus

by LetoaSai



Series: Familiars [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bonding, Familiars, Hunting down a sick wolf, M/M, Sickness, Symbiotic Relationship, Witchcraft, Witches, famous witch, focus fever, over worked witch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23570539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetoaSai/pseuds/LetoaSai
Summary: Squall didn't have a familiar. He didn't needed one. It would have been more a hindrance then a help.Until he met and extremely sick wolf.
Relationships: Cloud/Leon (Kingdom Hearts), Leon (Kingdom Hearts)/Squall Leonhart/Cloud Strife
Series: Familiars [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696579
Comments: 96
Kudos: 229





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any Final Fantasy
> 
> Yes, i have started another... Hope you like it.

Squall hated the city. It was loud and dirty and there was just too much motion. He had to keep a constant eye on his wallet and avoided social engagements like it was his job. 

His one saving grace was that most people didn’t know what he looked like, and those that did stayed out of his way. All he wanted was to get in and get out like it was some covert operation. 

He pulled his car up behind a shop, quietly pleased that the front seemed to be overrun with customers. That was good for him. The sign out front reading ‘Leonhart’ meant he had a lot at stake, not just his products but his reputation. 

As far as witches went, there were few as well known as he was at his age. He’d been at the top of his class and his knowledge only grew more every year. The problem with being well known had come not so long after graduating the academy. People wanted his business. They wanted him to create potions for them. Potions, salves, charms, spells. Anything. They wanted anything they could get from him. Having a ‘Leonhart’ spell was becoming a status symbol.

The problem with that was he could care less. He was not a people person and only wanted to work on his own projects. If he could have been a recluse he would have, but that wouldn’t have stopped people from seeking him out. 

That’s where the shop came in handy, the shop and a few good friends. 

Selphie wasn’t a witch, she was a medium but more than that, she was a people person. She was social and loved talking. It made her perfect to put in change. She could make the shop a warm inviting place and it would keep people going there rather than seeking him out directly. 

He made the trinkets and she sold them for him, but it wasn’t something he could do alone. His merch would have been sold out in three days without help. So he enlisted help.

Quistis graduated and got a job working as a teacher at the academy. Squall thought it suited her but she got bored after a while. It took little coaxing to get her to add to his inventory. Anything she made throughout the week was dropped off and sold and she ended up with a piece of the action. 

Rinoa added to their stock too, and like him she prefered to be left to herself. Unlike him, she still lived in the city. She’d found some little corner where she lived and gardened with her neighbor Aerith. Both were healers and worked around the city helping people. That was their calling. 

Both also sent things to his shop. 

With so many witches helping his inventory, his business thrived. Selphie made sure it thrived. 

Squall parked just behind the back door and went around to his trunk to grab his boxes for the week. He brought in more merchandise every other week and Sephie put it out to sell as it was needed. The only other time he made extra trips to the shop was when Selphie called with a special order or when something popular was out of stock. 

“Hey, i thought i heard your brooding.” Quistis peeked out the back door. “Need some help?” Must have been her weekend to drop off some things too. 

Squall shrugged. “Sure.” He pulled out two boxes, one stacked on top of the other. 

Quistis glanced back over he shoulder, “Paine, would you help too please?” She stepped out to help Squall unload and behind her a silver haired woman appeared. She’d been Quistis’ familiar since they were in the academy. It was mandatory for witches to take a familiar in school, the beneficial relationship was something to be honed before it was made permanent. Witches needed a familiar to soak up their excess magic and all around help them with their work. Familiars kept them focused and on track when too many projects would leave them scatterbrained. On the flip side, a familiar without a witch suffered. They weren’t able to change shape as easily and without magic running through their veins they became ill with geostigma. It could cover their skin and eat them from the inside until they finally died. 

Not everyone kept the same familiar they had in school but Quistis had. Squall hadn’t ever had one. ‘Mandatory’ meant nothing to him and he’d ignored it. Most thought he was just being stubborn, but too much magic could be just as bad for a familiar. He’d never met one that would handle his strength. It was the real reason he was so famous. A teen refusing a familiar had never happened before. 

A teenage witch learning on a curve without a familiar to lean on became stronger, but also more self destructive. It was just as much a wonder that he was as successful as he was, and not dead from a freak accident. 

“Squall.” Paine greeted, and only years of practice had him seeing the crow that was her other side peeking out. Around her throat was the red leather collar she’d had for years now with Quistis’ name attached. Bonded pairs took their relationship seriously. Paine belonged to Quistis. 

“Paine.” he said in a similar tone. Most thought they didn’t like each other but it was quite the opposite. They liked each other fine, they just didn’t need to express it loudly. 

Quistis grabbed a box and Paine took two more and the three headed back into the storage room where they were dropped off. Each were carefully labeled and he’d leave it up to Selphie’s discretion on when to crack them open. 

“You spending the day in the city or are you going to run back to your farm?” Quistis asked. 

“It’s not a farm.” 

“You have chickens. It’s a farm.” Quistis said, smirking. “I know you’re hard up for company that isn’t as chatty as the rest of us but chickens?” 

“They don’t talk back. It’s nice.” Squall shrugged. 

Paine hummed, “Sounds appealing, and there’s the whole free eggs thing.” 

“Don’t agree with him, he’ll just think he’s right.” Quistis said, fighting a smile. 

“I am right.” Squall said but yawned. “I am going now though. Gonna spend the rest of the day sleeping and get back to work tomorrow.” 

Quistis sighed and nudged her shoulder against his. “Squall, i’m fine with you keeping to yourself. Privacy is great but you need company.” 

Squall groaned and Paine gave him an amused stare. “Quis. You’ve been doing this since we were fifteen. Ten years. I am not getting a familiar. Not on a temporary or permanent basis.” 

“A friend, Squall.” She rolled her eyes. “Find a bloody friend.” 

“I already have more of you than i care to.” 

“Awe.” Paine smiled faintly, just a sliver of mocking to her tone. “He admitted we’re friends. That’s excellent progress.” 

Squall gave her a withering stare. “And on that note, i’m going to head out. Give Selphie my love or whatever.” 

“Awe, Squall, we could go get lunch or something.” Quistis said. 

He shook his head “Next time. I need to do a bit of shopping and that’s already going to put me in a bad head space.” 

“Wouldn’t have to moderate your head spaces if you had a familiar to lean on.” Quistis muttered but pitched her voice so it was just loud enough for him to hear. They all worried Squall would die young at the rate he was going. If a focus fever didn’t kill him, a stupid, easily avoidable mistake while working would. 

“Goodbye Quis.” he said, turning back to the door. “Bye Paine.” 

“Squall.” Paine waved. 

As much as he hated it, he liked to shove all of his errands into one day so he didn’t have to drag out this headache. He went to Rinoa’s next and dropped off two boxes of honey from his bees. One for both Rinoa and Aerith. Both were evidently out which he was grateful for. 

On Rinoa’s porch was a package of herbs she had bundled for him. Beside it was a small box of dried flowers from Aerith. All of which would be ingredients for something. 

Some he had ideas for and others, not so much. Didn’t matter. He liked having things in bulk. He stopped again for groceries that would probably last him over a week, maybe two with the way he often forgot to eat. 

Cid was going to bring him back sea water the next time he came back from one of his trips so that was one thing off the list. 

He stopped at the general store and picked up twine, jars, and wax. So many witches these days consider the classics a waste of time. It was why they weren’t very good witches. People thought he was a snob but really his expectations weren’t that impossible to meet. 

He felt a pain behind his eyes and just wanted to return home but he still found the energy to stop at the butchers for a few pounds of meat. That was for meals but would inevitably turn into spell material when he forgot about it and it spoiled. 

He lived with the constant ache of his craft. It was something having a familiar with cure but he wasn’t going to torture a poor creature who couldn’t handle what he had to give. Too much magic would make them as sick as the geostigma would if left unchecked. He wouldn’t do it.

With his shopping done he could finally fucking go home. His car was packed and he really was ready to sleep for the rest of the day when he heard shouting. That wasn’t the kind of thing that would have normally stopped him cold. Witch or not it wasn't his business to stick his nose into other peoples problems. 

The call of ‘thief’ gained his partial attention and he looked up in time to see a man running. There were two others chasing him and Squall gave the runner half a glance. The rough sort who stole often. He seemed to think he’d get away with this and if the two fools chasing him were anything to go by, he would. 

There were charms for this kind of thing. Charms and detectives. He was just a witch who wanted his peace and quiet. All of that he could have left alone, but a smell caught his attention. This musky, dirty, sick smell. It grew as if agitated and it had been. 

In his escape the thief attempted to dash down an alleyway which turned out to be a very bad idea. Before his pursuers even got to the mouth of the alley, the thief screamed. Everyone that happened to be on the street paused for a flash of terror and Squall took off towards the alley. 

“Move.” He hissed, shoving people out of the way while following the screams. The thief had inadvertently entered territory that wasn’t his. He was crumpled on the ground, a wolf’s jaws buried into the thief’s shoulder. The wolf stood on his back, pinning him down with his claws tearing up his skin. 

“Stop.” Squall said, tossing a spell forward to knock the thief out. The more he screamed, the more prey he became. The more he flailed, the more he just pissed the wolf off. 

The wolf growled deep, head still thrashing back and forth and the man was going to die if Squall couldn’t get the wolf to stop. The poor thing was a familiar, one covered in geostigma. Squall couldn’t even tell what color he was supposed to be as rancid black sores took over most of his fur. 

“He’s done.” Squall said calmly. “He’s down. Let him go.” 

Squall stared at the wolf’s bright blue eyes and was taken aback by the color. To be so damn sick and still be upright was a feat. To take down a fully grown man in the same state was impossible but he’d done it. 

“Just back off.” Squall said, keeping his voice level. “You won.” 

The wolf stared, slowly loosening his jaws and releasing the thief. 

“Good boy.” Squall said softly, but didn’t yet see many positive signs. No tail wagging and he still looked coiled up like a spring, ready to pounce. 

The poor thing really was covered in infected sores that absolutely had to be agonizing. His ears were oozing painfully and there was almost no place on the wolf he could safely touch. Squall’s eyes rested on the familiar’s jaw. He could stroke his jaw and offer him a little relief. 

“See, he’s down.” Squall stepped closer, holding his hand out slowly, his intention clear. “Well done.” Familiars each connected to a different animal, and when wounded and cornered they could be perfectly animalistic. If Squall kept things calm, he could handle this. He just had to get the wolf to trust him, and that definitely wasn’t something they were known for. A predator was a predator. 

“We’re gonna back off. Both of us.” Squall stepped closer and bit by bit got the wolf off the idiot that had turned down the wrong alley. He looked over him, critical eyes searching for some kind of brand. Familiars that were bonded always held something of their witch half, like Paine’s collar. 

Squall couldn’t see anything one him, and that wasn’t surprising given the state he was in. Had this wolf had a witch partner and still had geostigma so terribly, then that was abuse plain and simple. The witch would have definitely done time for that. 

“See, he’s nothing. Just us. We’re okay.” he reached out to touch the wolf, ready to pulse a quick spell through him to take off some of the worst stigma symptoms when footsteps pounded behind him. His fingers were only inches from the wolf’s nose when a rush of men deciding to continue pursuing the thief with more noise than sense appeared. 

“Hey! There he is!” 

Squall winced and rounded on them with a scowl. “Shut up! You’ll end up just like this fool!” He turned back around and the wolf was dashing away, a limp to his back leg. Too many people in his territory, too many to fight in his condition had him retreating. “Wait!” 

**Fucking damn it!**

“There he is!” One of the men said again, sliding to a stop by the thief, “Something got him for sure.” 

“He’ll need a hospital.” the second muttered. 

Squall rounded on them. “And now he’s on the loose because of you two fucking morons.” Magic was crackling off him in anger. “Don’t you have any damn intelligence?! Now i’m going to have to track him down. Son of a bitch!” 

They backed off, knowing an angry witch was not an opponent they wanted. 

“Deal with that.” he gestured to the down and bleeding thief. He really did need medical attention and would remain out cold for a while longer. There was also the whole bleeding thing and fang puncture marks.. 

Yeah, he’d rather deal with the familiar. 

Squall took off down the alley and groaned at the turn that was open rather than the dead end he’d been hoping for. It led out into the back alley behind several businesses that most people had no reason to wander through. That damn wolf probably knew every twist and turn around here. 

For several minutes he was able to follow the smell. Such an advanced case of geostigma was pungent. He’d never seen a case so bad except for a few pictures in school when he’d been learning about it as a kid.

He had to find him and quickly realized he was going to have trouble. The wolf had spooked, and there were a lot of alley’s to inspect. Squall scowled and headed back to his car. He was pretty sure he had a pendulum in his glove compartment. He’d track that wolf down. 

~

The damn wolf was going to get a piece of his mind when he finally did find him. Squall returned to the city three days in a row and every time he felt he was getting close, the wolf slipped away again. It was the most annoying thing but it had been such a long time since anything challenged him. It was almost thrilling. 

He’d find that wolf. He’d learn his name. He’d heal his stigma and...he didn’t even know what else. He had to find that wolf, he _had_ to.

“I’m worried.” Rinoa said, trailing after him down a dingy looking road. She had her own pendulum swinging and Rikku bouncing along beside her. Squall worried about that. Rikku’s animal was an otter and while formidable in the water, a wolf would be a problem for her. 

“About what?” Squall grunted. 

“You’re focus fever.” Rinoa said. It was one of many things familiars helped to do, keeping their witches on track. Squall was now so determined to find this sick wolf that everything else had taken a back seat, his work and self care included. 

Rinoa had all but forced him to eat that morning. 

“It’s whatever.” Squall said. 

“You haven’t slept in a while, have you?” 

“Doesn’t matter.” 

“There’s no sense in trying to talk him down.” Rikku laughed softly. “His poor witchy brain is too focused on this wolf. I’ve never met a wolf, i hope he’s nice.” 

Rinoa hummed, “Me too. I’ve never seen Squall so determined to get a familiar.” 

“First off, i can hear you. Tired doesn't mean deaf.” Squall said in a clipped, irritated voice. “Second, no one said anything about me getting a familiar.” 

Rikku snorted, flicking her hair over her shoulder and admiring her brown leather wrist cuff with Rinoa’s name stamped into it. “Then what are we doing out here?” 

“He’s just in denial.” Rinoa chuckled. “A wolf would suit his loner personality just fine.” 

Squall heaved a sigh. He didn’t even remember asking for their help. Wait… did he ask for their help? 

He shook his head out hard, trying to concentrate. His focus hadn’t been this bad in months. Usually when he had a case of focus fever he just worked until he passed out and the chain was broken. He was also usually at home in those moments and it was an acceptable outcome. That wasn’t the case this time and since he didn’t remember when Rinoa had shown up well… that was a bad symptom. 

“I’m just going to heal him. It was bad.” he muttered, ignoring the growling of his stomach. 

“Must have been for you to be so worked up,” Rinoa agreed, worry still in her tone but she made a pleased sound when both of their pendulums jerked to the right. “That’s a nice start. This wouldn’t be such a pain if you’d have let me just ask a seer for advice, but no, you’re impatient.” 

“Whatever.” Squall said, eyes on his swinging crystal and following it while they were able to get directions.

“Yay! Getting closer!” Rikku cheered but Squall was already on the move. He continued to follow his pendulum with a fevered gaze. 

It felt like good progress for a whole two minutes before the pendulum’s fell again at a fork in the back streets. 

“Damn it…” Squall cursed, looking from one path to the other. 

“We’ll split up.” Rinoa said simply. “You go left, we’ll go right. If we find your pup, we’ll text you.” 

Squall grumbled and headed off towards the left. More and more his curiosity grew. How the hell was this familiar ducking around his tracking spells? His tracking spells were impeccable. Avoiding both his and Rinoa’s spells felt impossible. It was all too damn intriguing. 

“Okay…” Rinoa said, the two of them heading off in the opposite direction when it was clear Squall was too fevered to pay them any mind. 

The back alleys were filthy. Rats being chased by cats. Trash littering every corner. The smell of piss permeated the air and Squall was struck by the number of people he actually passed on those dark streets. Even in the middle of the day they seemed perpetually cast in shadows. 

His stomach churned to think of the wolf living out here. Familiar’s shouldn’t have gotten as bad as this. There were clinics aplenty where familiars could go to absorb magic from either witches or objects enchanted for that purpose. There were programs to match up familiars with witches even temporarily too. The relationship was a beneficial one even if he hated the notion himself. He was better off alone. 

He shoved his pendulum back in his pocket, it was no use. This wolf was good at deflecting magic. Squall paused when a hint of geostigma hit his nose. It was faint but in the air. Tracking the hound would have been so much easier if he’d had even a single hair of his fur. 

Squall dug into his pocket and pulled out a set of runes from his pocket. Divination wasn’t quite his specialty but he was adequate enough in most things. He shut his eyes and reached into the pouch, the question running through his mind. 

_Where is the wolf?_

He pulled out whatever runes his fingers touched and dropped them on the ground in front of him. Reading them was not his forte either when there were literally a dozen different translations to any given rune but these seemed to say one thing. Up. 

Up? Squall bent down to pick up his runes and glanced up. The sky was first but that was ridiculous. A roof! That made much more sense. He looked around, trying to determine which roof to check first but a number of fire escapes made that a high number of options. That also gave him the answer he was looking for. 

On an upper level of a fire escape someone sat, too far away to see. Looking wouldn’t hurt. He pocketed his ruins again and climbed up onto the first level of steps. He wanted to run on the off chance it was his wolf but if it was, running would be bad. He’d spook him again. 

He was three levels up and the smell of stigma was awful. That was clue number one. What struck Squall as intriguing was the fact that the familiar was back in his human shape. It was hard for an unbonded familiar to swap back and forth at will. Unheard of for one so sick to be able to do it. 

“Hey…” Squall said once on the same landing. The mans frame was small, or at least smaller then Squall was himself. He was swimming in a black hoodie, the hood covering his face. His black pants were baggie, at least a size or two too big but his toes poked out. All but two of them covered in black sores. 

The familiar didn’t move and Squall worried he wasn’t conscious. “Hey there.” he said, dropping to his knees and sliding closer. “It’s fine.” he said softly. “Just the two of us this time.” 

He was able to get closer this time and didn’t touch but tilted his head down to try to see his face. He’d really started thinking the poor thing was knocked out but he was met by those bright blue eyes. Yes, if there had been any doubt before it was gone now. 

“Hey.” Squall said softly. “You’ve had me on a merry chase.” 

Slow blink, at least he was listening. 

“I’m going to reach out slowly and touch your face.” Squall said slowly, his jaw still looked untouched by sores. “I’m going to push a little magic into you to help your pain, okay? Do you understand?” 

He didn’t get a response but he didn’t expect one. Not with such a stand offish lone wolf. “Hey, i’m going to just touch my fingers against your cheek.”

He reached out hesitantly and watched the familiar’s eyes turn to pinpoints. “It’s okay.” He said soothingly. 

The very second his fingers bypassed his hood, the familiar lunged forward, his fangs chomping down hard on the flesh between Squall’s thumb and forefinger. 

Both were met with a jolt that had their hair standing on end. Squall from the pain the ran up his arm and down his spine. He must have said every curse word he knew but he’d reflexively tried to defend himself, a spike of magic bouncing into the familiar that was instantly absorbed and triggered a numbing effect. 

Squall breathed out shakily, willing his eyes to stop watering from pain. “Ow…” he said slowly, wincing at the blood dripping down his hand. “That was not necessary.” 

The familiar blinked at him, eyes hazy. His jaw was still locked around Squall’s hands but the magic had been such a shock to his system that he slumped forward, drool dripping down his chin while momentarily paralyzed. 

“If you can still hear me, i need you to look at me.” It was sluggish, but the familiar’s eyes shifted to his. “Good, very good. I need you to unhook your jaws from my hand if you can.” 

He didn’t, but his eyes were heavy and Squall wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn’t. Squall carefully sent another pulse of magic into him. His whole body twitched, and a familiar so magic deprived would need to siphon magic off slowly, probably over time. He added a third pulse of magic despite his own hand aching with pain and was fascinated by the fact that this familiar didn’t shove him away. Stupefied or not it was instinctual to push away from too much magic. It was why most familiars wouldn’t have been able to handle Squall as a partner. He had too much magic to control. This familiar though, he just took and took. 

Squall sent a fourth pulse of magic through him and he made a sound in the back of his throat. He fangs finally lifted from his hand but his mouth remained. He sucked the blood off Squall’s hand, his saliva healing the puncture marks. 

The relief from pain had Squall sighing and pushing more magic back into him. It should have been too much at this point but he didn’t look that bothered by it. He was either ridiculously strong for a familiar, or the stigma was absorbing most of the magic. 

“There, are you feeling a little better?” Squall asked, staring back at those blue eyes.

He made another small sound in the back of his throat and Squall didn’t know if he was angry or sympathetic. How did a familiar like this get to this point? Who let this happen? 

“My name is Squall.” He said, not attempting to take his hand back yet since he seemed content to hold it in his mouth. “Can you tell me your name?” 

Squall felt him hum more than he heard it. He lifted his own hand stiffly, tapping the back of Squall’s knuckles and Squall got the distinct impression he was asking for more. With another zap he pushed more magic into him and could feel him humming again. 

“Like that?” Squall asked. “I’ve got plenty.” And he did, he had too much for a regular familiar but that didn’t seem to be a factor here. 

There was another tap to the back of his hand and he sent more magic into the wolf. 

“Why don’t you come back with me?” Squall offered. “You can have more. I live just outside of the city. It’s quiet.” 

The familiar met his gaze again, much more understanding there than there had been before. That was probably a good sign. 

“You can rest without having to keep one eye open. No one sneaking into your den, as it were.” Squall said, fairly surprised to feel the wolf’s tongue against his hand. 

“Okay? We can go whenever you-” 

Squall’s phone chirped and buzzed and the familiar jerked away from him, the sudden noise having him on full alert, his eyes blown wide. He’d pulled away so hard his shoulder cracked painfully against the metal railing. He’d curled up, his breath coming out in heaving pants. 

“Hey, hey, it’s fine. Everything’s fine. My phone just made a noise. That’s it. That’s all.” Squall said, pushing his hand back against his mouth. “It’s not dangerous. It was just a noise.” God, he couldn’t imagine what this wolf had been through if a little noise put him in such a state. 

Squall was almost relieved when the wolf wrapped his mouth around his hand again in the same spot as before. He’d have to explain to him later that he was _not_ a chew toy but if it kept him from freaking out right now, fine.

“Want to see?” Squall asked, voice low and soothing again. He dug out his phone from his pocket and showed it to him. “See. It just made a noise.” He tapped it to check his text from Rinoa saying they’d found nothing. He sent her a quick one back. 

He had it handled. 

“We’re good.” Squall continued quietly, putting his phone away and then sliding his free hand into the wolf’s hair. It was filthy and possibly meant to be blond but he tilted his head into Squall’s hand and it felt like progress. 

“We’re good right?” Squall asked, wondering if carrying him would be easiest. 

“...Cloud.” 

Squall was taken aback, hearing the word mumbled around his hand. “Is...that your name? Cloud?” 

Half a nod was all he got but it was all he really needed. 

“Nice to meet you Cloud. Can i have my hand back?” 

Cloud looked reluctant but loosened his jaw and Squall didn’t waste any time. One hand went around his back and the other under his knees to lift him up into his arms. “We’re still fine.” he said when Cloud jerked, back to looking confused. 

“We’re fine.” Squall repeated, wondering if Cloud was stuck thinking with more of his wolf sense then his human sense. Might have explained the biting. “We’re just going somewhere safe. Someplace that’s safe and ours. 

Cloud sat uncomfortably the entire time Squall made his way awkwardly down the fire escape and by the time Squall was back on the ground, Cloud seemed to be the exhausted one. 

“Still fine.” Squall said, sure it wasn’t normal for Cloud to feel so light. He couldn’t have possibly been that much younger than Squall. A year or two at most. He walked a touch faster then strictly necessary and didn’t realize how tense he was himself until Cloud relaxed against him. His head against his shoulder felt oddly intimate but he didn’t have time to think about that now. 

Squall weaved through the back alley, backtracking his own steps to get back to his car. It didn’t take as long as he thought it should have. 

Rinoa and Rikku were already leaning against his car, waiting for him to return and both perked up when they saw him with his bounty. 

“Oh my god…” Rinoa said, face crumpling. “I know you said… You said but… he’s so sick.” 

Rikku whimpered and clung to Rinoa’s side. The smell of geostigma alone was enough to tell them how bad it was but SEEING him was different. 

“Shh.” Squall shook his head, glancing at Cloud to see him out cold. He’d actually fallen asleep. “It’s really not good.”

“Where are you taking him?” Rinoa asked, pitching her voice lower.

Squall’s brows raised. “Home? Where else would i take him?” 

She smiled faintly. “Mr. I’m never going to bond is taking a sick familiar home?” 

“Who said anything about bonding?” Squall snorted. “Just.. move. Let me put him in the back.” 

He completely ignored the knowing look both women wore and shifted slowly to get Cloud settled in the back seat, stretched out comfortably. 

“He smells an awful lot like your magic already Squally.” Rikku didn’t bother to hold back her smile. 

He shook his head. “Yeah, well he took a lot of it. Get in. I’ll take you two home first.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to look at him? Me or Aerith?” Rinoa offered. 

“Nope. I got it.” Squall muttered, climbing into the drivers seat. 

“Mhm…” Rinoa said and he hated the smug tone. She got in on the passenger side and Rikku shifted to her otter form to curl up in her lap rather than bother Cloud in the back. It was a kindness Squall appreciated. Even in her otter form, her cuff was around her wrist, filled with magic and spelled to transform with her to always fit. 

He definitely hadn’t seen anything like that on Cloud. There might not have been anyone to blame for this, but he’d fix it anyway.

Things would be better at home…


	2. Chapter 2

It was a relief to be home with the knowledge that he didn’t have to return to the city the following day to hunt down a wayward wolf. He’d dropped off Rinoa and Rikku, practically kicking them out of his car before returning to his home. 

It was quiet and just big enough for his needs with a garage, plenty of land, and no damn neighbors for miles. That made it worth its weight in gold. 

He hadn’t said a word the whole drive and had even kept the radio low to not disturb Cloud. The poor wolf needed all the sleep he could get. When he parked he turned around to find -very much to his surprise- that Cloud had shifted back into his wolf form. How the hell did he do that? 

Had he used the magic Squall had pumped into him or was he simply strong enough to do it at will? Had he done it in his sleep?

“Okay…” Squall said, climbing out of the car and moving to the back seat. He went back to his original plan and started rubbing Cloud’s jaw where there were no sores. The last thing he wanted was to startle him awake. 

“Hey there.” he said softly, watching Cloud’s eyes move behind their lids. “It’s still just me. I’m gonna take you inside.” 

Blue eyes opened, his nose pressed against his wrist to inhale his scent. 

“C’mon, i’m not gonna make you walk.” Squall said, slowly wrapped his arms around the wolf. It was a little awkward at first but was easier once they were out of the car. Cloud was a big wolf, long legs and well.. He should have had a lean body but he was undernourished from sickness and lack of food. He was too light. 

There was no way Squall should have been able to carry him in wolf form. It was just one more worry that Squall would correct given a little time. 

He felt the wards of his house brush against his skin as he walked in and he tweaked them as he went to leave the poor wolf alone. He’d change them more permanently later but right now, the wolf was his focus. 

Squall laid Cloud right out on his kitchen table and fetched a bowl of water. He smiled faintly when Cloud seemed to go after that immediately. Actual food seemed be the next course of action. He might not have been the best cook but he didn’t starve, generally… He wandered through and pantry and dug through his fridge all while feeling that blue gaze following him. 

In the end he pulled out a cutlet to dice and add to rice. Nothing fancy, but it would do. 

“Here, lets see if we can get you feeling better.” Squall said, setting the second bowl in front of Cloud. 

He ate like he hadn’t in weeks, and Squall suspected that was the case. He sat at the table and watched, fascinated by the familiar. Cloud wasn’t like any familiar he’d ever come across before. He wanted to be able to pet him, to reinforce this was a safe place but his fur was so matted and damaged. The sores oozed and Squall was sure they were painful. He had something for those but it could wait until he was done eating. 

The bowl was licked clean and the water finished. Cloud finally leaned towards Squall, sniffing at him again and Squall assumed he was looking for more food. 

“C’mon now. That’s enough for right now. Let your stomach get used to food again. Why don’t we see if we can clean you up?” Squall reached out to rub his chin again and winced when those strong jaws clamped down on his hand again. 

There was no pain this time, Cloud merely held onto his hand without biting down. “I will get you proper chew toys. My hand is not one of those things.” 

Cloud didn’t budge but instead just stared at him, tail thumping once against the table. He was waiting, and it took Squall a good minute before he took a guess. He pushed a pulse of magic back into him and this tail wagged twice more before stilling again. 

“Glutton.” Squall smiled faintly. “You don’t have to bite me to get a taste of magic. We need to get you used to that too. You’ve probably had way more than a regular familiar could handle for a week in only a few hours.” 

Cloud’s tail just thudded against the table again and Squall responded with more magic. There was however, now a dark stain on the table from the sores on his tail. 

“Lets put you in a bath.” He took his hand back.

Cloud shifted his joints and looked torn between reluctant and eager. He wanted to be clean but getting clean was not going to be fun. He seemed to know that already. “C’mon.” Squall said, not bothering to make him walk. His back leg didn’t look to be in that great a shape. He wrapped his arm around him and lifted him back into his arms. Even the meal hadn’t made a difference in his weight though he didn’t expect it to. 

Cloud made an unhappy noise while he was carried up the stairs to the bathroom. 

“Yes, i know. It’s my fault.” Squall muttered, setting Cloud in the tub as carefully as he could. It was fortunately, a big tub though he’d never admit to how many spells that tub had held. Sometimes he just made things in bulk for the store because he could. 

Either way it was good news for the wolf. Squall turned the water on and adjusted the temperature. He didn’t bother just yet to fill the tub up and instead used the shower head to rinse him off as gently as he could. Cloud still growled unhappily, and Squall just...couldn’t imagine what he was going through. 

“I know, i know. Roll over onto your side if you can so i can get your stomach.” 

Cloud did as he was asked but he wasn’t happy about it. He yelped when certain sores were hit a little too hard by the spray of water and Squall wouldn’t do anything but rub his jaw with an apology and push a little magic into him to sooth him. 

The sheer amount of dirt and crud he was getting off him was alarming and he had to wonder if Cloud was even smaller than he’d suspected. The entire process took the better part of an hour before Squall stopped to fill the tub, and promptly drain it again when the water was still coming out dark brown. 

It was better the second time and Squall only filled the tub up a third of the way. He grabbed a washcloth and all the soap he had and knew this wasn’t going to be pleasant for either of them. The sores were painful and the fur was knotted. 

“I know you aren’t going to like this, but i’m going to go slow. Growl or something if it’s too painful.” Squall said, getting a noncommittal noise in return. 

Squall started with his face, lathering the washcloth with soap and gently cleaning him off the best he could. Cloud handled his face well, but started growling the second Squall stated touching his ears. The growling turned into whimpers, the whimpers turned into full on yelps that had Cloud shaking his head to get him to let go. 

“I know, i know, but they need to be cleaned…” Squall said, deciding to leave those for last as he tried to work on the rest of his body. 

His spine wasn’t too awful but his shoulder blades were. His paws were awful and painful. His front legs weren’t so bad but his back legs were almost festering. His stomach was rubbed raw and his tail still oozed. 

Cloud did his best, the poor thing really did but he was shaking and Squall just couldn’t do it to him anymore. 

“Stay here a second.” Squall said, leaving Cloud to soak while he headed into his work shop. He had to have something for the pain. Anything. He pulled out boxes of potions and creams already made for emergencies and thought momentarily that it might have been better to deal with Cloud’s human side first but that was hardly fair. 

His human skin was probably as bad as his fur and both would need to be addressed. This wasn’t a simple bruise that could be healed from one form to the other. 

Coming back into the bathroom found Cloud standing on all fours in the tub, shaking and not attempting to get out but the water was obviously uncomfortable. Squall sat on the edge of the tub and showed Cloud what he’d brought. 

“We both know you need to be cleaned up. We gotta do something about this infection. I have two that will help with the pain, but one will knock you out and the other won’t block the pain as well. Preference?” 

He had a moment to wonder if Cloud was even listening to him before he nudged the ‘stay awake’ option with his nose. 

“Okay.” He poured it out into a bowl he’d brought with him and let Cloud drink it on his own rather than shove it down his throat. The fact that he didn’t react to the poor taste told Squall a little more about his health. 

Squall just sighed, wondering if he had anything else that could ease his pain. He shouldn’t have been so stubborn and let Rinoa help. She was the healer… A thought clicked into place and he grabbed a basket off the bathroom shelf, somewhere in there… found it. Rinoa had made him a bath bomb as a joke for his birthday, one that would relax the muscles and was good for general good health. That could work here too. 

He stretched just enough to reach the faucet and turn the water on when Cloud nudged him hard and he fell into the tub with a thud, clothes instantly soaked, “Damn it, Cloud!” He huffed, trying to get up but he had a wolf leaning against him already. “Really?!” 

Cloud looked just as bemused, but if he was going to be uncomfortable, Squall supposed he must too. 

He kicked his shoes off and had to admit...there was no saving his clothes anyway. They were covered in black pus and smudges from carrying Cloud around and he didn’t feel like making the effort to clean them. 

“Brat.” He grumbled, resting a hand on the exhausted wolf. What did it matter if he smelled like wet dog too?

Cloud had already sagged against him, the potion taking effect. His head was resting against Squall’s chest while the tub filled up and Squall hoped he wouldn’t be too affected by Rinoa’s bath bomb while he was working on Cloud. He dropped in in the water and Cloud jerked when the thing exploded into pink bubbles. 

“It’s fine. My friend thinks she’s funny.” Squall said and grabbed the washcloth again. It took the better part of two hours, and three washcloths for Squall to be satisfied that he’d made any kind of dent at all. He’d used his own magic to heat up the water every twenty minutes and was personally, a pruney mess. Cloud had drifted in and out of sleep but for the most part had stared at Squall. Tending to the sores had been nasty work but it needed to be done. Hopefully they’d never get so bad again. 

When he was finally done he lifted Cloud from the water, the now tawny colored wolf too tired to even shake himself off. He rested him on a towel and towel dried him with another. He needed to be brushed but that was just out of the question for at least a few days. 

Cloud needed time to rest and heal and absorb more of Squall’s magic for the sores to begin to heal and disappear. 

While he rested Squall pulled off his wet, ruined clothes and took a quick shower. It was little more than rinsing off but it was necessary all the same. Stigma and wet dog did not make for a pleasant smell. It was however, going to be something he was living with for the next few hours. 

Squall could have dried Cloud himself with a little magic but having the chance to dry slowly would probably be better for him. He’d just have to settle with water proofing his sheets for the night. 

He didn’t bother with clothes either, not when they’d just get wet again. He lifted Cloud up in his arms again and took him to his room. 

“You’ll have a good sleep now.” Squall said quietly, setting Cloud on his bed right after a bit of quick spell work. Cloud whimpered, unable to get his balance on the soft surface. 

“Just lay down.” Squall said, pausing to put clothes on. With that done he went to pulling out a first aid kit from under this dresser and going about tending Cloud’s paws. Poor thing looked like he was wearing boots of gauze and bandages. He needed to wait for the rest of him to dry more before trying to wrap the rest of them up more and settled for putting ointment on his ears and other wounds. 

“There, that has to be a little better.” Squall said, rubbing his head and wasn’t surprised anymore when he got his hand snagged right away by sharp teeth. It had barely been hours and already the gesture was associated with comfort for Cloud. 

The amount of magic Cloud was able to absorb was incredible, but not something for Squall to study today. He tapped him with another dose of magic and watched Cloud relax. 

“Rest.” Squall said, pulling his hand from his mouth and patting his head. He should clean up the bathroom. He’d need more bandages, maybe he should call Rinoa or Aerith to bring him more. He didn’t want to go into the city again so soon. 

He’d need food for Cloud, he’d get tired of rice eventually and he’d need more..well everything. He texted both women, not sure if his words were even decipherable. Didn’t matter. Cloud mattered. 

He’d need clothes for Cloud too. His own would have to work for now. The ones that manifested when Cloud turned into his human shape would probably need to be thrown away. They were filthy and pus covered. Who knew what else, Cloud would need something new. 

A familiar like this needed to be taken care of. He could have died in that alley. He could have-

Cloud howled, the sound between a growl and distress. 

“Hey, hey.” Squall said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “What happened?” 

Cloud howled again and took Squall’s hand. He jerked his whole arm down until Squall was sprawled out beside him. There was a break in Squall’s thoughts when his face unceremoniously hit the mattress

“Cloud, what…” 

Cloud huffed and rolled until he leaned against Squall. 

“So you just want company?” 

His tail thumped once and he still had Squall’s hand in his mouth. It was his chew toy.

~

Squall heard a thudding, a knock at the door but he couldn’t move. He was exhausted and even opening his eyes felt like too much effort. He didn’t remember what he’d been doing but he must have been working on something. Heavy spell work did tired him out. 

He heard the knocking again and ignored it. His wards would let in people allowed to be there and everyone else wouldn’t make it past the front door. It didn’t matter. He was hot though. Tired and hot. 

What had he done to himself now? Something must have backfired. 

He could hear the footsteps and would have rolled his eyes if he could. It was probably Rinoa or Quistis. Those two were the type to just pop over when he didn’t answer his phone long enough. The steps came up the stairs and he realized quickly he was half right. 

Rinoa and Aerith. 

“Awe.” Rinoa cooed softly just after the door creaked open. “Look.” 

“Oh my… you weren’t kidding, poor thing.” Aerith whispered attempting not to wake him. He felt cool fingers against his face a moment later, he really was hot. “He’s in rough shape. They both are.” 

“Yeah but you can feel the magic recycling in the room. Going from one and back to the other.” 

“Looks like he’s finally found his match. Thank goodness, i was worried he’d never find someone.” 

Rinoa chuckled. “I know it’s awful, Squall hasn’t had a terrible focus fever since finals at the academy but this really is adorable. He was so focused on finding his wolf that he wouldn’t listen to reason about anything else.” 

Wolf? Squall nearly jerked, body not doing what he wanted. Cloud. Son of a bitch...that’s...why he was… He could tell now, a warm muzzle nuzzled against his throat. He was still here… 

“I can see why you wanted me to come along.” Aerith commented quietly. “You take Squall, i’ll work on his familiar. Do we know his name yet?” 

“I don’t, i’m not even sure if Squall was in the head space to ask.” Rinoa said, sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands on Squall’s chest. 

He could feel it, the warmth seeping into his bones. Healers really had a knack for their trade and even if Squall’s problem was fatigue he needed to sleep off, she could help him take the edge off. 

“This poor wolf…” Aerith whispered. “He’s clearly been hard off for ages.” 

She could speed up recovering in ways Squall couldn’t. Squall could make him comfortable and help with the pain. He could even drive away the infection with a little time but Aerith could make the sores heal faster and be gone within days. 

“We’ll he’s in a good place then.” Rinoa said, still keeping her voice low. 

Aerith hummed her agreement. “Oh for sure. He’s already locked on to Squall’s magic. Seems he’s got a taste for it.” 

Rinoa snorted. “Of course. Squall would have to get the biggest, scariest, predator around for a familiar.” 

Squall sighed heavily. They were talking like they’d bonded on sight. Not only was that not a thing, but he’d know if it had happened. There was a lot of prep work and spell work to make a good bond. It was mutual and not something to be done on a whim. 

“Hey there, you coming around?” Rinoa patted his cheek. 

He moved slowly, his head shifting, his chin brushing against fur. His eyes still wouldn’t open. 

“That’s what you get for falling so deep into a focus fever. Maybe your wolf will help you avoid that now.” Rinoa was smiling, he could tell she was just by her voice. She’d also restrained herself from teasingly pulling his hair. His head did kinda hurt… 

His own thoughts broke away again when Cloud started growling. Not the rumbling ‘fed me’ growling or the ‘i hurt’ growling Squall had heard early. It was full on **Get Away From Me** growling. 

“It’s okay.” Aerith said, trying to sooth him. “I know it stings but you really will feel better.” 

Cloud continued to growl and thrash and Squall could feel the vibration of it against his throat. He reached up sluggish, fingers prodding at Cloud muzzle until they slid between his jaws. “Shh…” 

“Squall don’t.” Rinoa gasped, worried for his fingers. If Cloud really chomped down well, it wouldn’t be good.

“S’fine.” Squall muttered, other arm wrapping around Cloud. “Just lay there. Let them help heal you.”

Cloud sounds were extremely unhappy but the thrashing stopped. That was one more odd thing on top of so many others. Familiars, as a rule didn’t tend to trust easily. It was why they were often put into classes at the academy and raised alongside witches. 

It was clear that Cloud had never attended and was probably more of the feral side when not put down by geostigma. Him listening to Squall so easily was odd. 

“You know,” Aerith said softly. “It would be easier to heal you if you were in your human form. Maybe we can help you shift.” 

“Yeah i think we could both manage it.” Rinoa muttered. Familiars shifted themselves but on occasion, they could be coaxed to shift by a witches magic. 

“Don’t baby him.” Squally muttered, clearing his throat. “He’s not an invalid, he can do it himself.” 

“Squall!” Rinoa scolded. 

Aerith hummed her unhappiness at him. “Squall, he’s sick. You know how hard shifting can be.” 

“Mhm…” Squall sighed, finding it more strange that he could feel Clouds teeth and tongue against his fingers. 

“Then you should know better! He-” Rinoa paused when Cloud moved back onto his hunches stiffly, releasing Squall’s hand in the process. 

It was always interesting to watch a familiar change, none of them did it quite the same. Cloud’s back arched before wolf turned to man. He was dressed, his clothes still filthy but his hair and body were clean from his bath. It was like the clothes had simply disappeared and not existed while in animal form. 

Curiously enough, the bandages on his hands and feet remained, if a little loose. 

“Oh my..” Aerith muttered, surprise clear in her tone. A sick familiar shouldn’t have been able to shift so easily. 

“Clothes off…” Squall said, pushing himself to sit up. “Give you something to wear…” 

“Squall, lay down.” Rinoa sighed. “You’re fever hasn’t exactly broken yet.” 

Cloud’s attention jerked back to Squall but Aerith put her hands on his shoulder. 

“Let’s get this off you.” 

Cloud growled softly but it couldn’t do it himself easily with his hands bandaged. She pulled the hoodie over his head while Squall bickered with Rinoa. 

“I’m okay.” Squall grumbled. “Where are Rikku and Marlene?” 

Rinoa tried in vain to get him to lay down again. “Down stairs. They knew you had a wolf and didn’t want to encroach on his space.” 

“Thoughtful.” Squall muttered, watching as Aerith helped Cloud peel all of his clothes off. His shoulders needed to be bandaged and his thighs needed attention. The stigma was bad and his skin looked dry. His stomach looked like he’d had a rash but it was healing. Maybe some of the magic he’d been absorbing all day had helped with that. Being clean probably helped too. 

“We’ll get you all sorted out, promise.” Aerith said. 

Cloud was unhappy, his face blank other than his lips occasionally pulling back into a snarl. Aertih and Rinoa both broke out their supplies and dug through what Squall had. Between the two of them they pumped Cloud full of healing magic. It would take days for the stigma to clear up but the bruises and cuts were healed. Some of the infection was taken care of too. The rest would take time. Magic couldn't just make everything better with a poof. 

“He’s fine. Would you two stop?” Squall sighed, shifting through his dresser to find Cloud clothes. The longer they stayed, the more closed off Cloud was becoming and all three knew it. 

“Can you tell us your name?” Rinoa asked, just to make conversation but Cloud never made a peep other than to growl. 

“You’re doing well, you’re just about done for today.” Aerith smiled, keeping her tone light. 

“No, he’s done. He’s fine.” Squall said. “Thank you both, but leave him alone.” He pushed his way between them and set the clothes down. “Could you get out of my house now?” 

“Rude.” Rinoa snorted. “You did ask us for help.” 

“You gave it, i’m grateful. Bye now.” Squall said, helping Cloud into a t-shirt. He was swimming in it but it didn’t matter. The sweat pants weren’t any different, but he stopped growling when it was Squall in his space. 

Aerith snicked. “Marlene and Rikku made you dinner for a couple nights. They packed them away and put them in the fridge.” 

“Thank you.” Squall said, smoothing his hand down Cloud’s hair out of a quickly forming habit. He followed the girls out into the hall a moment later and sighed. It would probably be polite to see them out. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Aerith asked softly. “You look like you're dragging.”

Squall shrugged. “Just need a little sleep.”

“And a pretty wolf to cuddle up beside.” Rinoa teased. 

“Oh shut up.” He waved them down the hall. “Out, out, out.” 

Aerith laughed, “Are you actually embarrassed? Isn’t that interesting.” 

He loved his friends, but fuck this is why he only dealt with them a little at a time. “Shut it. He doesn’t like being crowded and you just spent the last forty minutes in his face. He needs some time to decompress.” 

“Okay, we hear you.” Rinoa said, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “We’re just happy for you. You need this. You deserve this.” 

“You’re acting like it’s a done deal. It’s not.” Squall frowned. Bonding was serious. It did not happen after a day. 

Aerith smiled. “Fine. We won’t argue and we’ll get out of your hair.” 

“Thank you…” 

She continued. “And maybe stop by in a few days to see how you’re getting on.” 

He scoffed and turned back to his room, knowing they could show themselves out. Like hell he was going to be polite now. He half expected Cloud to be curled up in bed again, back in wolf form. Instead he was still in human form, standing at Squall’s dresser and looking at the trinkets. Incenses, colognes, charms, rings, and scraps of papers with snippets of spells on them. What seemed to hold his attention was a single picture frame. 

Cloud glanced up at it and held it up, questions in his eyes. 

“That’s my little brother. Sora.” Squall said, sliding up beside him. It had been taken of the two of them the previous summer. 

Cloud set it down again but kept staring at it. When he tapped the frame again Squall seemed to know what he was asking. 

“He’s at school. The magic academy. He comes home every other weekend.” Squall said. “He’s very cheerful.” As if he couldn't tell by the huge smile.

Cloud hummed his understanding and went about looking at Squall’s things. He seemed curious and liked to touch things. He would have to remember to tell Cloud to be careful in his workroom. 

Something terrible could happen. Familiars were generally good around magic and magic supplies but accidents happened. There was also the fact that Cloud was more feral then many other familiars he had contact with. He wasn’t sure how much sense Cloud could have around spell work. 

He’d have to work on that...if Cloud were to stay, that is. He had the room after all, it only made sense, and he was still healing. Stigma didn’t get rid of itself. 

Squall almost jumped, feeling fingers on the back of his neck and his eyes shift into focus as Cloud bumped their noses. 

“Shh…” 

Oh, right. The focus fever. Squall sighed, not sure why he was so transfixed on Cloud. It felt like sheer good luck that familiars were talented in their ability to distract. Familiars that were bonded were particularly good at keeping their witch on track and making sure they didn’t over work and tax themselves. 

Cloud patted Squall’s cheek with his bandaged hand. The pat turned into a rub and it took Squall way to long to realize Cloud was rubbing at the spot Rinoa had kissed. Familiars could bee oddly possessive. When he was satisfied he linked his arms with Squall's and pulled him back to bed. He didn’t use words but he didn’t have to in this case. His meaning was clear. They both still needed the rest, the little they had gotten just hadn’t been enough. 

Cloud sat on the bed first and Squall followed. He had only a moment to wonder if he should have showed Cloud the guest bedroom when the blond cuddled up against his side. Now this time instead of a muzzle tickling his chin he had blond spikes. 

This was...comfortable.

~

In only three days Squall saw some improvements. Cloud didn’t speak much but when it did it was short and to the point. He was healing, but it was a slow process. At the same time there had been smaller milestones. His feet (or back paws) were still bandaged but they were able to take the bandages off his hands.

The geostigma was there but healing. His ears and shoulders were still bad but other patches were shrinking, leaving fresh skin behind. 

So far he’d only had to chase Rinoa away once more. Honestly...give him time. The pull he felt towards Cloud was unreal and something he hadn’t experienced before. He wanted time to explore it himself. 

Squall rolled his eyes when he heard the front door open with a bang, followed by a soft curse at how loud it had been. He never learned, but he had too much energy. 

“Squall! I’m home!” Sora called, wandering through the halls. “God, what did you burn? Or kill? What spell backfired so hard?” he paused. “Were you cooking? You shouldn’t do that.” 

Squall rolled his eyes again. He’d become numb to the smell of Cloud’s geostigma and hardly recognized it anymore. 

“Ah, there you are.” Sora beamed, poking his head into the kitchen. His brother was young, still a teenager and only sixteen. Squall had been raising him alone for years now, since their mother died. “Seriously, what is that god awful smell?” 

Squall sighed and smacked the back of Sora’s head when he was close enough to reach. 

“Ow.” Sora pouted. “What did i do?” 

“Be nice.” Squall said simply. “It’s not his fault. Here.” He handed Sora a bowl of noodles, green beans and bacon. “Take this to Cloud. He’s in the living room. Do not touch him.” 

Sora’s brows rose and he obviously had questions but he just turned around and headed for the living room. 

Squall went about cleaning up the mess he’d made throwing food together but heard Sora’s soft ‘Oh.’ The emotion to it made Squall smile. Sora was a nice kid. 

It only took him a few minutes but by the time he made it to the living room, Sora was kneeling on the floor in front of the couch face to face with a wolf. He was rubbing his side carefully and making all kinds of sympathetic noises. 

“Sora.” Squall sighed. “I said don't touch.” 

“I know but…” Sora swallowed. “I’ve never seen stigma so bad…” 

Squall agreed quietly. “Did you introduce yourself?” 

Sora nodded. 

“His name is Cloud.” Squall said, knowing in wolf form Cloud couldn’t introduce himself even if he was in a speaking mood which he doubted.

“Hey,” Sora’s smile was coming back. “We all match. Guess that means you belong here Cloud.” 

Cloud watched Sora with infinitely intelligent eyes, nosing at Sora once. It was far better than all the growling he did at Rinoa and Aerith but Sora wasn’t prodding at him like they had to. 

“Um,” Sora commented. “No collar?” 

“We’re not bonded Sora.” 

Sora nodded slowly. “Oh, right. I mean i knew that i guess, i just thought…” 

Cloud looked between them slowly and Sora obliged by talking to much. “Squall’s never had a familiar. I mean maybe one in passing but he never paired off with one. Not even in school.” 

“Sora…” Squall sighed. 

Sora continued talking to Cloud like he didn’t hear. “Squall’s a really strong witch. He needed a really strong familiar and refused to hurt one that wasn’t up to par. He was the first student at the academy to ever refuse a familiar partner.”

Cloud made a noise in his chest and Squall smiled faintly. Leave it to Sora… “Weren’t you supposed to have one now? Still doesn’t feel right?” 

Sora shrugged. “No,” he muttered, looking at Cloud. “I’m not as against it as Squall was in school just… none of them feel right. Like they aren’t for me. Maybe that’s selfish.” 

“It’s not selfish to want a good partnership.” Squall said softly. “You’ll find one or you won’t. Either way, it will be what's right for you.” He reached out and put a hand on Cloud’s head before pushing a little magic into him 

“Oh, can i try?” Sora looked between them. “I haven’t really gotten a chance to practice this.” 

“Cloud’s choice.” Squall said and was amused when Cloud sat a little straighter and leaned towards him. 

Sora nearly vibrated with excitement, carefully placing his hands on Cloud’s side and carefully pushing magic into Cloud’s body. Cloud’s tail thudded happily and Squall nodded. 

“Well done.” Squall said, “See it’s not so hard.” 

Sora nodded, a little light headed. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to do so much.” 

Squall snorted. “Yeah, Cloud can take a lot. Any other familiar and just tap them. Better to gauge how much they can absorb first.” 

“Got it.” Sora smiled, “Oh! Right.” Sora held up the bowl for Cloud to eat. “This is gonna be such a fun weekend!” 

“He’s resting Sora.” Squall chuckled but no matter how minor, Sora probably would drag Cloud into something. 

“Doesn’t mean he needs to be bored. I’m gonna put my stuff away. Can you check my alchemy homework later?” 

“Whatever.” Squall said, “Just keep it down in case Cloud is sleeping.” 

“Oh, big brother has a new favorite.” Sora teased, jumping up to sprint out of the room. 

Cloud looked at Squall and Squall could have sworn the wolf was laughing at him. “Little brothers, right?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: Do not own Kingdom Hearts

Squall walked into his workroom, tired with a cup of coffee still in hand. He had to check on the molds he’d made the previous day to see if they’d kept their shape. He was testing the cobra venom he’d recently gotten, mixing it into homemade soaps with a few other hard to come by ingredients. 

He knew already that the venom could help with geostigma sores. The theory now was molding it into soaps safely to help wash the infection out while cleaning them, without the whole.. acidy, burny effect. If it worked it could be a big deal. 

He paused when he found his work table was cleared off and it only took a moment for the confusion to fade. Right. Familiar. 

Cloud had been with him for four months now, nearly five, and for a while he worried that Cloud being feral would trump those familiar instincts. It hadn’t. Not the least little bit. Cloud had only been there for a week before he’d slowly begun micromanaging Squall’s life. Suddenly his food was cooked instead of going bad. His work area was often clean and his focus...frankly had never been better. 

The relief from his friends was... appreciated but annoying. It wasn’t like he hadn’t understood the benefits of the partnership. He merely couldn’t find a familiar on his level. Cloud was that and more. He could handle Squall’s magic without so much as a flinch. It was more than that, Cloud craved it. 

His wolf had settled in nicely and took over swiftly. Squall hadn’t been sure if Cloud even knew what he was doing but it was done. Even if he was working on instincts alone Cloud was fulfilling his duties. 

He still growled at everyone and perhaps wasn’t the friendliest. He still barely spoke and was often as stoic as Squall was himself. But he seemed to adore Sora, and really he couldn’t ask for more than that. 

Sora was probably the most excited to have the familiar in the house again but instead of being happy that Squall had company he was merely excited he had a second big brother figure. More than once he’d walked into a room to see Cloud watching Sora. Even wounded and weak he was a towering presence, guarding those that lived in the house. 

“Cloud!” Squall yelled, exasperation creeping into his voice when his project wasn’t where he left it. “Where are the molds!?” 

He grumbled incoherently, looking for his papers and wondering how things got done with nosy familiar’s around that had to touch everything. 

He didn’t hear Cloud walk in, his footsteps nearly silent as he crept through the house but Squall knew he was in the doorway all the same. He was clean and stronger and only had a single bandage around his bicep. It was all that was left with his terrible case of geostigma. 

“The fuck are my molds, wolf?” he repeated. His work tables were empty. 

Cloud walked in, moving across the room to the shelves currently hit by sunlight and held his arms out in a ‘ta da’ like gesture. 

Squall looked up and scowled, only a little embarrassed that they’d been in plain sight. “Why are the curtains open? The stuff on that shelf can’t be in sunlight.” He frowned. With the molds he was working with set on the shelf… the things that had been on the shelf were… “Where…?”

Cloud walked over to the cabinet against the opposite wall and opened the top door, revealing all kinds of tinted jars and bottles he kept several ingredients in.

The cabinet usually held bowls and measuring cups. The sort of things he needed for his mixtures and experiments but didn’t exactly want to eat out of later. That was a firm rule. Kitchen dishes stayed in the kitchen. Potentially dangerous, experimented on dishes stayed in the workroom. 

Without even asking, Cloud walked over to the little sink in the corner and opened the cabinet under it, revealing all of his pots and bowls neatly stacked. 

“So you just played musical chairs with all of my supplies?” Squall muttered, grabbing his molds from the shelf to bring them to the table without kicking up more of a fuss. 

Cloud smirked and didn’t have to say a word. He rarely ever did. Had Squall not heard him speak before he would wonder if he was too feral to. As it was, Cloud was perfectly capable of saying whatever he wanted with a look in either form. 

Cloud appeared at his side next, waiting for him to set the molds down before prodding at him. He stared at him in what Squall liked to think of as his patented ‘reward me’ look. 

“Fine.” Squall muttered, a softness in his tone as he reached out to brush his finger tips against Cloud’s cheek. Without fanfare he sent a pulse of magic into his body. 

It cleared his mind from the haze caused by too much magic and Cloud preened as if eating a huge meal. 

“Good.” Squall said simply. 

Cloud hummed and snatched his coffee cup away before Squall could stop him. 

“Hey!” Squall snapped as Cloud walked out. “You bring that back! I wasn’t done with it!” He paused. “Cloud!” Nothing. 

Stupid familiars and their nitpicking and rearranging things to be in sensible places and completely throwing off his mornings. Damn it. 

He’d only been working about ten minutes when Cloud returned with a hot cup of tea, a bagel with cream cheese and his cell phone that had half a dozen texts that were likely from Rinoa or Selphie. 

“Thank you.” He muttered, having not realized before how his stomach rolled from hunger. 

Cloud grunted his acknowledgement and rounded the other side of the table, peering at the little work Squall had done already. A familiar’s critical eye when it came to magic was important. 

He flipped through his texts and was mostly right. Sephie. Fortunately the shop was doing well and he only had one special order come in so far this week. 

“Sephie says Naminé is settling in. Still seems shocked by every little thing up there.” Squall said and Cloud nodded, eyes filled with understanding. He was still getting used to having a home too. 

When Sora had called him and told him his friend and her two familiars needed a place to stay, he’d offer the upper levels of his shop. They were half storage and half empty so he didn’t really care if she wanted to stay there or not. They’d been for Selphie originally but she’d ended up getting her own apartment. 

As long as Naminé wasn't a thief he didn’t really care, but he couldn’t imagine Sora having a dishonest friend. 

“Was thinking about clearing out the garage for Sora.” Squall commented, not at all bothered by not receiving any answers. “I mean he’s getting older and might like the space to himself. It’s two stories, could invite Naminé there too. Someplace quiet to go outside of town.” 

She had two familiars and no formal training to his knowledge but her skill was easily apparent. It would be a waste not to help her find her feet. Her cobras were also like Cloud, feral. 

Feral familiars left in busy environments almost always become dangerously aggressive. Cloud was an example of that no matter how puppy-like he could become. It would probably do the cobras well to have a quiet place to retreat to from time to time. 

He didn’t really use the garage anyway. His car was in the bottom half but it didn’t have to be. He could spell it to be safe from the elements and turn the garage into a little apartment. Maybe two little apartments. 

He took a bite of his bagel and felt a hand on his hip. Cloud was there, chin resting on Squall’s shoulders. “You like the idea?” 

“Mm..” Cloud nodded once. He seemed to like Naminé though he hadn't met her yet. Squall and Sora both endorsing her presence seemed to be enough for him. Finding out she needed a home had hit him hard. He seemed pleased with Squall giving her a place to live.

Squall didn’t want to think about all the times Cloud needed someone looking after him. 

“Well maybe we’ll head out to the garage his afternoon. Start figuring out how much work will need to be done.” 

Cloud leaned closer, this teeth resting against Squall’s jaw in an affectionate nip. These were the kinds of things that familiars were scolded for at the academy but Squall didn’t mind it much. There was nothing wrong with Cloud showing how pleased he was in the ways he knew how. 

He’d stopped chomping at least, and Squall had to admit, he liked it when Cloud was happy. 

When he pulled away, Squall looked back at his self assigned project. The molds held their magic, now he just had to figure out how to mix the venom into a healthy salve and combine it with a nice smelling soap. He knew Aerith had jotted down a recipe for him somewhere and he had plenty of herbs. Lavender would work and he had that in that-

Cloud smacked his hand. “Eat.” 

Squall shifted his gaze to him and rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” Cloud stared at him until he picked the bagel up for another bite and it earned him a smile. 

More than once Squall would have sworn he was the one being trained instead of the other way around. 

~

Squall looked up when he heard the squawk. “Cloud!” He scowled. “Leave the fucking chickens alone!”

He let the birds out of their pen on occasion to stretch their legs and eat grass. They mostly stayed within sight of their pen and ran back in during the evenings when he fed them again. This time however they were being chased around by a giant, tawny colored wolf. 

Cloud halted in his games, looking at Squall questioningly as if the chicken’s hadn’t been put there for his amusement. 

“Drop it.” Squall said, looking exasperated. 

Cloud loosened his jaws and the chicken he held fell to the ground with a plop before she got her bearings and ran off again away from the predator. 

“Honestly. You are not starved anymore. Leave my chicken alone. I need them.” Squall said, turning back to what he was doing. It was around this time every day that he gathered eggs. It was one of many uses the chickens had. 

Eggs daily, meat on occasion for dinner, blood on occasion for spell work. There was also the fact that the chickens were a great alarm system. They were so skittish that they started making all kinds of noise when someone was in the yard. 

He’d only just shut the door to the hen house when he heard the rooster in a tizzy and he didn’t have to look to know why. 

“Cloud!” 

He glanced over his shoulder and it was like Cloud was laughing. Having the rooster pinned to the ground by one large paw seemed to entertain him. Squall almost found it hard to begrudge him the fun. He hadn’t had much fun so far just trying to survive in the city. 

“Cloud, the chickens are not your chew toys.” Squall said again, wandering out of the pen. His wards on the hen house clicked back into place, keeping the fox and raccoon's out. If this continued he was going to have to spell it for wolves too. It had been weeks before it occurred to him that his chickens were probably the first Cloud had ever seen. 

It wasn’t like they were domestically wandering around the city. The closest he ever came to a chicken was sneaking into the back of the butchers shops. 

Squall didn’t know much about Cloud’s early life, he wasn’t ready to talk about it. At first it was Cloud’s awareness of familiar duties that had surprised him. He’d never attended the academy’s familiar courses. As far as Squall knew he’d been feral his whole life, but it didn’t seem odd to run on instinct. 

Cloud had been with him for weeks before other things became apparently odd. Cloud could cook. He knew how to steep tea and broil a steak. It seemed like odd skills for him to have picked up out of the blue. 

Still, Squall didn’t ask. Cloud wasn’t ready to talk about it. In fact he seemed succinctly grateful that Squall hadn’t been prying. 

“How many times do i have to tell you?” Squall said, “Let the damn bird go.”

He’d been thinking about getting goats before he’d come across Cloud. He didn’t really want to take care of them but the milk and cheese would have been nice. Not to mention the goat fur for certain spells. Now it seemed like a bad idea with the prowling wolf around. 

Cloud wouldn’t actually hurt any of the animals...probably, but he was always excited to see them and loved to make them scatter. 

He was so slight in his human form, maybe he just didn’t realize how big his wolf form really was. As if proving his point, Cloud silently slid up along beside him and rubbed his side against Squall’s leg. A clear marking that Squall ignored. Cloud was just reaffirming his place here, not claiming him. The action still nearly knocked him off his feet. 

Squall was a bit too tall but he could imagine Sora riding Cloud like a small pony. 

“You’re in a playful mood, aren’t you?” Squall sighed, reaching out to rub his ears. It wasn’t so long ago that he couldn’t even touch Cloud’s ears. They’d been so infected and painful. It was little wonder Cloud was so willing to play now. Squall paused to lift Cloud's ears up and check them, double checking the infection was still gone. 

Cloud moved his head back and bit down on his hand. It didn’t hurt. It never really hurt after that first time Cloud had intended to bite him. Now it had just become some kind of comforting gesture.

“Yeah, you’re not in trouble.” Squall muttered, wondering when he’d become so soft. It was the same trouble he had scolding Sora when he was growing up. 

Cloud made a soft noise, this soft content noise before running his tongue across Squall’s hand. They didn’t need words to understand each other. Cloud was happy to be here, quiet and healthy and Squall was pleased with the company. The wolf could have left at any time and didn’t. 

Squall was starting to think he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if Cloud did want to leave. A familiar on his level was hard to come by and while he’d never considered having his own familiar before, he was considering it now. He didn’t know if Cloud would be interested in such a bond. After so many years wild, he might find it too restraining. 

“Let’s go, wolf.” Squall said, carrying his basket of eggs inside to wash. He half thought Cloud would go back to chasing the chickens but he followed him inside, tail wagging. That stupid gesture had been a huge mile stone. 

Cloud had been living there for two weeks before he had an easy tail wag. It was more than just his tail thumping to make a point, but an unconscious wag of general happiness. It had been that moment Squall was sure he was feeling better. 

“Yuffie will probably stop by to pick up some eggs.” Squall commented. He told Cloud every time someone was planning to stop by. It didn’t stop the growling but he seemed to like being aware of when someone was coming into his territory. Just because Squall liked them didn’t mean he had to. 

It wasn’t like he attacked people anyway. He would, Squall was certain of that, but he hadn’t. 

He watched Cloud cock his head in a questioning manner and Squall had to smile. He was speaking silent wolf. 

“No, you haven’t met her yet. Yuffie and her familiar are treasure hunters. Mostly they go after rare ingredients that sell for ridiculous amounts of money.” Squall explained, walking in through the back door and into the kitchen with the eggs. “Like obscene amounts. She’s so pissed that i got cobra venom so easily. That’s a harder one to come by.” 

Yuffie hadn’t been home much lately, and never long enough to visit Squall and his house guest. He didn’t foresee it going well. Yuffie, bless her heart, was loud. 

Cloud grumbled and leaned against his legs while he washed the eggs. 

“She’ll be around for a stretch i think, then no doubt go running off after Ifrit’s horn or something.” Squall mused, jumping when Cloud nipped at the back of his thigh. “Hey..” 

Cloud shifted into human form as easily as breathing and took the eggs from him to put away. Someday’s it was almost easier for him to keep Squall out of the kitchen.

“Oh, i’m a bother now?” Squall smiled faintly. “I had to keep you from provoking the bees but i’m a bother in my own kitchen.” 

Cloud turned to him with a put out look and firmly did not rub his back the way he wanted to where at least four red marks sat from being stung by bees days before. 

Squall couldn’t help the upturn of his lips. “I did tell you to leave them alone.” 

He scoffed, he would not be brought down by bees. 

“It’s alright.” Squall smiled faintly, secretly loving that pout. It was so much more prominent in his human form than his wolf form. It was the first time he ever actually wanted to touch for more than just a few minutes of pleasure. 

He reached up, touching Clouds hair and trying not to be too pleased with himself when Cloud leaned into his hand. “C’mon, we’ll think about lunch. Food makes you happy.” 

Cloud grunted and nodded the two of them pulling apart, reluctance on both their sides. They tossed a quick lunch together and ate at the same table that Cloud had been laid out on his first day here while still sick. 

Most meals were always quiet but they were nice that way. It was that companionable silence that left Squall maybe missing Sora a little less. There wasn’t so much time alone anymore but Cloud didn’t make him overwhelmingly tired the way most people did. 

“I’m gonna head up to the workroom.” Squall said. “The charms should have set by now and i can-” 

He stopped when there was a knock at the door but it was more courtesy than anything since it opened a second later.

“Squally!” Yuffie cheered, the small woman called through the house until she found them still in the kitchen. She stopped dead when she saw Cloud, her face breaking out into the biggest smile. “Ooh! Aerith said but.. Oh you really invited a familiar to live with you! Squally!” 

“Yuffie… I’m going to need you to lower your voice several octaves.” Squall sighed, already drained of his energy used for being around people. 

She beamed, bouncing from one foot to the other happily. “Tifa, Tifa, Tifa! Come see!” 

Squall barely had time to see Cloud’s nostrils flare and his eyes widen a fraction before a much taller woman appeared in the doorway just behind Yuffie. Tifa had been Yuffie’s familiar for going on three years. She was a tough woman, just as deadly and strong in her human form as she was in her animal form. A jackal. 

Tifa inhaled the very second her eyes landed on Cloud. “Cloud!” 

Cloud sighed and looked away, something most didn’t have nerve enough to do around her. 

“Where the fuck have you been!?” Tifa’s voice was half aggressive and half real worry. 

Cloud’s face went blank and Squall didn’t like it. 

“You know him already, Tifa?” Yuffie asked. “Really?” 

Tifa nodded, frowning. “We grew up together until he disappeared.” She stomped into the room. “Just up and gone! Do you have any idea how long i’ve been looking for you!?” 

Cloud stared at the table and Squall didn’t like what he was feeling. Sure, Cloud might not have been overly expressive but he hadn’t been this closed off in weeks. Cloud still hadn’t talked about his past and Squall still hadn’t asked. Cloud wasn’t ready… 

“Ooh.” Yuffie hummed, her arms crossed as she leaned back against the kitchen door frame. “This your friend you’ve been looking for?” 

When Tifa grunted the affirmative Cloud seemed to deflate. 

“Cloud?” Tifa said, her voice softening considerably, sensing something was wrong. “What happened? Where’ve you been?” Cloud didn’t move and only Squall could see his toes tapping against the floor impatiently. “Why aren’t you talking?” 

“He doesn’t really.” Squall said. 

Tifa’s brows furrowed in confusion. It didn’t make sense to him and was forcing him to rethink what he knew. Maybe Cloud hadn’t been feral all his life, but maybe it explained why he had so many other random skills. 

“How old were you when you last saw each other?” Squall asked. 

“Thirteen. There about.” Tifa said. A lot could happen in ten years. A lot of changes could happen. 

“So somewhere between then and now he got more feral.” Squall muttered and could already feel how much Cloud hated the attention on him. 

Tifa straightened. “Feral?” She said the word like it was an insult. “That the hell are you talking about?” 

“Mhm,” Yuffie was nodding. “That’s what Aerith was saying. Real feral and a bad case of geostigma.” She was looking Cloud over from where she stood but didn't approach him. Squall appreciated that, but he expected not less. Familair's were treated so much better in Wutai.

“That’s not...Cloud what in the world happened to you?” Tifa reached forward and Cloud growled, lips pulled back into a snarl. His eyes were pinpoints and whatever head space he was in was putting him on edge. 

Tifa growled back, but this wasn’t whatever old dance they used to have. She might have been agitated and playing, but Cloud was sinking into survival mode. 

He was suddenly standing, the chair flying back onto its side behind him. His hair was standing on end and Squall knew if he had the chance he’d have shifted into his wolf form. Tifa could shift fast but not as fast as Cloud could. 

“Cloud…” Tifa blinked when it was clear he _would_ attack. 

“Tifa..” Yuffie grabbed her arm to tug her closer while Squall moved to hover over Cloud. 

“Hey. That’s enough.” Squall said softly, “You know it’s safe here.” 

Cloud was looking at him, but obviously wasn’t seeing him. He was having a flashback of being on the streets, or worse, from something further back that haunted him. 

Squall reached out, intending to touch his face and hardly reacted at all when Cloud bit down on his hand. 

“Cloud!” Tifa gasped. 

“It’s fine.” Squall said, the large canines of his human form hadn’t even broken his skin. Squall pushed a little magic into Cloud in a small bursts. The dose of magic was dizzying but Cloud could handle it. 

“Squall that’s…” Yuffie muttered, feeling the wave of magic from across the kitchen. 

“It’s fine. He could possibly drain me dry.” Squall chuckled, smiling a little when Cloud seemed to focus on him. 

“There you are.” Squall continued quietly. “I’m supposed to be the one with the focus problems.” 

Cloud blinked slowly, absorbing every drop of magic Squall pushed into him. It calmed him, and most of his aggression faded away.

“You want to go lay down?” Squall asked and watched Cloud nod. “Go on.”

Cloud stalled enough to get one more shot of magic pushed into him before releasing Squall’s hand and dropping onto all fours. He was a wolf in a blink and trotted from the room. 

“Cloud-” 

“No, let him go.” Squall said, cutting Tifa off. “He needs time.” 

“Man, i thought this was gonna be cute. Instead it's way too serious.” Yuffie muttered, shoving her hair out of her face. “Is he gonna be okay?” 

“Yes, he just needs some quiet.” 

Tifa scowled but it was more like she didn’t like being helpless. “I don’t...know what to think. I’ve always hoped he was okay.” 

Squall righted Cloud’s chair and sat in it. “So he just up and disappeared at thirteen?” 

“Right. We grew up in the mountains. It was calm there, if boring. He was a happy kid. Then the summer after we presented he just didn’t come home one night.” Tifa explained quietly. “His mom was gone by then and he stayed with my family. It was a big deal…” 

Squall hummed. Familiars could always shift but their need for magic didn’t present until puberty was in full swing. Cloud didn’t disappear until after he needed a witch to function properly… Was that telling or just a coincidence? 

“Crazy…” Yuffie said. “All that magic he took from you and with how fast he changed. You two are almost scary.” 

Squall shrugged. “Need to be on the same wavelength i guess. He really is doing better. Almost healed back to a hundred percent. I haven’t seen him triggered in a few weeks.” 

Tifa nodded. “Are you bonded?” 

“No.” 

Her frowned returned. “Do you plan to bond?” 

“Tifa. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out he's been through some shit. He needs time. He needs to decompress. Bonding will come later. Until then, he’s safe here.” 

“Right.” Tifa deflated. This was concern she’d been carrying around with her for a decade. 

Yuffie laughed softly. “But eventually, bonding’s on the table?” 

Squall rolled his eyes. “Cloud’s health is first. If you want to discuss what i should and should not do, go see Rinoa. 

“Oh.” Yuffie perked up. “Yes. We’ll do that! Gimme my eggs and we’ll leave you to baby your wolf.” 

Even Tifa had to smile at that. Yuffie was always encouraging familiars getting pampered. “I’d like to come back to see him, if that’s okay? Would you call us when he’s up to having company?” 

Squall nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.” He got up, fetching the carton of eggs he’d packed away. God knew they really were going to stop at Rinoa’s now to gossip about him. At least he didn’t have to listen to it. 

“I will call you tomorrow.” Yuffie said cheerfully. 

“Next week.” Squall frowned. “At the earliest.” 

“Squally…” 

Tifa laughed quietly. “Well i guess if Cloud needs the break i can wait a little longer. It’s a relief just to know where he is.” 

He passed Yuffie the carton and was almost relieved the visit was cut short. “I’ll see you later.” 

“Well, yeah, i wanna see that venom too.” Yuffie muttered. That would be what annoyed her. 

Squall sighed. “Talk to Selphie. She has some. Most of it sold but she put a little of it away for a rainy day.” 

Yuffie practically did a little dance. “Yes! Let’s go Tifa!” 

Tifa laughed and waved to Squall, the two of them showing themselves out. 

Squall sighed again relieved his house was quiet once more and headed up to his room where he found Cloud right where he expected him. Curled up on his bed, still in wolf form under the blankets. 

“Hey wolf,” Squall muttered, peeling the blankets back and dropping a kiss on the top of his head. “Feeling better with a little quiet time?” 

Cloud rumbled and his ear twitched. 

“They left but we both know it’s not for good.” Squall sat on the bed and rubbed his ears, still keeping in mind how tender they were even if they were healed. He'd be thinking that for years.

Cloud had so many changes to go through already, the last thing he needed was someone prying. Squall couldn’t imagine it was a good story. Thirteen was the earliest he could have gone to the academy and obviously hadn’t. Something had happened before he got the chance. Something that left him ill and feral but not even a familiar of Cloud’s strength could survive that way for ten years. 

Squall laid beside him, pushing in a little energy into every couple of minutes. He had all the time in the world to lay there if that's what Cloud wanted. Work could wait. 

Forty-five minutes had passed before Cloud rolled and shifted all at the same time, his cheek resting against Squall’s shoulder. 

“Was a long time ago…” He whispered. 

“No.” Squall said, still stroking his hair. “You don’t have to talk about it until you want to tell me. Don’t do it now just because your old friend showed up.” 

Cloud tilted his head back enough to look at him, expression confused. 

“Tell me when you want to tell me. That doesn’t have to be right now.”

Cloud watched him a beat longer, then his entire body relaxed. Still curled up against Squall he sighed and nodded. 

This was turning into a nap situation, but Squall couldn’t really find it in him to complain. Yes, he was still in the dark but somehow having Cloud’s trust was more satisfying.

~

The coffee press was missing. If ever there were an emergency in his home, that was it. The _coffee press_ was missing. How was he supposed to function? He certainly couldn’t get anything done if he wasn’t awake. 

He could take a cold shower but that sounded downright miserable. 

“Cloud!” He called through the house. “Your organization skills need to be discussed! You can’t stop coffee cold turkey!” He waited for a response but didn’t get one. Sure, he didn’t expect to hear Cloud yell back but he thought he’d hear a chuckle or something. 

Where the hell was that wolf? 

“This isn’t funny. I am entirely too dependent on caffeine for you to abuse me like this.” Squall continued to rant but never heard any movement that might betray where Cloud was hiding now. It started to make him uneasy. Usually when he complained long enough Cloud would just appear to watch him be annoyed as if it were amusing to him. 

“Cloud?” 

The downstairs seemed to be empty and Cloud hadn’t been in bed when he woke up. He was right outside his workroom door when he smelled coffee and some of his tension faded. 

“Oh thank fuck.” Squall muttered. His coffee press sat on his work table, hot and ready next to his mug. That was an odd place to leave it.

Usually Cloud kept his workroom tidy and he sprinted the dishes away the second Squall was done with them rather than let them pile up even for a few hours.

“What are you up to..” Squall mumbled, walking in and pouring himself a cup. Beside his press was one of his books, left opened with a bookmark wedged into the middle. 

He hadn’t left it out. He hadn’t pulled out any of his research material for a few days at least but only Cloud could have done it. 

One glance over the pages had him thunking his mug down hard on the table. The Bond Ritual Spell. 

Cloud had left out one of his spell books to the damn bond spell. Squall read through it out of habit. It was close to what he remembered. It was burned into his memory for whatever reason. Was this Cloud’s way of asking to stay? It had been a few months now and for all accounts, Cloud was acting like _his_ familiar. 

“Mm…” 

Squall’s gaze jerked up, finding Cloud in the doorway looking...nervous? His eyes were down cast and Squall wasn’t sure how to associate ‘shy’ with his wolf that bit him on the regular basis. 

“A bond is a big deal.” Squall said softly, pausing to take a sip of his coffee because it was so damn good. “Never had a familiar before. Never had a bond. Never performed this spell before.” Cloud glanced up at him. 

“But we click.” Squall said quietly, feeling a touch embarrassed himself. “Is this really what you want? To be stuck with me?”

Cloud nodded, looking serious.

Well, if it was what Cloud wanted… He couldn’t very well go on denying it was what he wanted too. Squall looked around. He had some scraps of leather he could convert into something wearable. He had all of the binding materials. Had the wax and fire. Had a body full of his own blood to use. Yeah, he could do this. 

Squall smiled a little and Cloud perked up, reading his acceptance in his body language. He came in, standing right in front of Squall before brushing a kiss to the corner of Squall’s mouth. “Mine.” 

Squall felt his heartbeat thudding rapidly. “Yeah. Well then wolf, why don’t you help me grab all the ingredients?” 

Cloud’s smile was suddenly very real. Had he been in wolf form his tail would have been wagging. 

Bonding was serious business, but Squall felt nothing but clear headed. They were going to bond and if nothing else was certain, Squall knew Cloud would never get geostigma again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> So many more parts to this series to come.  
> Either a collaboration or individual parts done by Kutikue and myself.
> 
> Also, biggest thank you Haruyukihana for the art work for this story. ^___^ it's so good. I really love it. 
> 
> https://haruyukihana.tumblr.com/post/619962158426505216/from-focus-written-by-letoasai-ao3-about-the


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